Langya Mountain lies in the southwest
of Chuzhou City, the east of Anhui Province. It is a key national scenic spot
and the state forest park, one of the five major resorts in Anhui. The mountain
is 48 kilometers away from Nanjing City, and 130 kilometers from Hefei, the
capital city of Anhui Province.
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| The Zuiweng (an old drunkard)
Pavilion |
The resort covers an area of 115 square
kilometers with a forest coverage rate of 86%. There are rich plant and animal
resources, including 54 bird species protected by the Sino-Japanese Agreement
on the Protection of Migratory Birds, rare species of Langya elm and Zuiweng
elm, and the most completely preserved natural secondary forest among the
limestone zone of the Chinese transitional zone from subtropical to warm
temperature. Clear brooks like the Langya Brook, Boli Brook and springs like the
Rang Spring, Zhuoying Spring are singing, and caves like the Guiyun Cave,
Xuehong Cave, Chongxi Cave, and Taoyuan Cave of surprising views are scattered
in the mountain.
Many eminent poets and writers as well as
people of wealth came here to build pagodas, compose poems and verses, so
numerous relics of literature can be found in the mountain. There are six great
scenes in Langya, namely mountain, temple, pagoda, spring, writing, and people.
The Langya Temple built in the Tang Dynasty (618-907) is famous in eastern Anhui
Province and also one of the major temples in China. The Zuiweng (an old
drunkard) Pavilion was built in the Song Dynasty (960-1279) and gained its
reputation for the verse of Zuiweng Ting Ji (the Pavilion of the Old
Drunkard), which is regarded as the No.1 pagoda in China. Other rebuilt spots
like the Nantian Door, Yefang Park, Shengxiu Lake, and Tongle Park and stele
inscriptions of Zuiweng Ting Ji (the Pavilion of the Old Drunkard) that
are in four different styles bring out the best in each other with the ancient
constructions, ancient road, and ancient pavilion in the
mountain.